Fulbright-Hays Project, Ghana and Mali

A Fulbright-Hays Group Seminar Abroad Project  
Ghana and Mali, June 1-July 3, 2004.

Lead Institution: Kennesaw State University

• Short Description
  Have you ever wondered about Timbuktu? Now you can go there! June 1-July 3, 2004 Institution: Kennesaw State University

  General Information: Kennesaw State University has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to organize a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program to West Africa. The countries four-week program will take participants through West Africa from the Atlantic coast to the heart of the Sahara desert, covering the two countries of Ghana and Mali.

  Purpose: The overall purpose of the project is to expand the knowledge base and improve the teaching strategies about Africa in Georgias high schools. Focusing on two countries--Ghana and Mali--the project takes a team of 12 World Geography, World History, and Social Studies teachers to West Africa for four weeks to study the regions geography, people, and culture.

  Participants: Participants will consist of eight high school teachers and four university faculty selected from across the state of Georgia.

  Activities: (a) Mandatory two-day pre-departure orientation in Winter/Spring 2004 will focus on essential information and preparation for the trip. (b) The trip to West Africa. While in West Africa, participants will receive formal instruction from university faculty and experts, and deep insights from citizens, chiefs, palace historians, and religious officials. They will visit places of historical and cultural significance, collect instructional materials and artifacts, keep a journal, and take photos and video clips. (c) Upon their return, participants will develop lesson plans, presentation strategies, and course modules on Africa and integrate their knowledge into their lessons and teaching. They will also produce a series of workshops across the state in which they will showcase to their colleagues the knowledge they have gained and, importantly, the resource materials they have produced. (d) A resource center to be called TeachAfrica Resource Center (TARC) will be established at Kennesaw State University (KSU) to promote the African curriculum in World Geography, World History, and Social Studies in Georgia. TARC will continue to acquire and store instructional resource materials to be checked out by teachers for their classroom presentations. (e) A website will also be established at KSU for posting electronic resources on Africa prepared by team members.

  Program Costs: The U.S. Department of Education grant will cover approximately 80% of participants costs overseas, including round-trip airfare, in-country travel in Ghana and Mali, lodging. In addition to a registration fee of $500, participants are to expect out-of-pocket expenses related to pre-departure orientation in Georgia and a few meal expenses in West Africa.

  Application Process: Please complete the application form and checklist, and mail completed application to Dr. Akanmu G. Adebayo, Executive Director, Institute for Global Initiatives, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591. To ensure consideration, complete applications must be received by Friday, October 31, 2003. Final selection is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Education. Expect to be notified by Friday, November 19, 2003.

• Research Paper and Reading List

  From the Atlantic to the Sahara: 
  Geography, Peoples, and Cultures of West Africa

  Fulbright-Hays Group Seminar Abroad Program 
  June 1-July 3, 2004

  Topics for Research Paper

  Instruction: Each team member will select a topic from the list below

  1. West Africas physical characteristics (forests, desert, rivers, mountains, etc.)
  2. Kingdoms and empires of West Africa (political culture of pre-industrial societies)
  3. An ethnographic and linguistic survey of West Africa (peoples of West Africa)
  4. Anglophone and Francophone West Africa (comparative study, European imperialism)
  5. West African music (instruments, entertainment, global influence)
  6. Islam in West Africa (religion, spread and impact of Islam, Islamic and traditional beliefs)
  7. West African religions and beliefs (early civilizations, religion)
  8. West African art (artistic production, esthetics, global influence)
  9. The Atlantic slave trade (migration, the Columbian Exchange, cultural diffusion)
  10. Economic Community of West Africa (regional integration, economic union)
  11. Science and technology in West Africa (contributions to science and technology)
  12. Cities and urban life in West Africa (settlement patterns in developing countries)
  13. Family and Kinship in Africa (social institutions, relationships)
  14. African women (gender, womens issues)
  15. Educational system (traditional, colonial, and contemporary educational systems)
  16. Work and leisure (social institutions, socialization, industrialization)

  Reading/Viewing List 

  Books

  Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Trade Paperbacks, Anchor Books, 1994).

  Samuel Aryeety-Attoh, ed., Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997).

  Adu Boahen (with J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Tidy), Topics in West African History (London: Longman Group, 1986 Second Edition).

  Basil Davidson, Modern Africa: A Political and Social History (Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1995).

  Basil Davidson, West Africa Before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850 (London and New York: Longman, 1998).

  Toyin Falola, ed., Africa Vol. 2, African Cultures and Societies before 1885 (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2000).

  April Gordon and Donald Gordon, eds., Understanding Contemporary Africa (3rd Edition) (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2001).

  Vincent Khapoya, The African Experience: An Introduction (Third Edition) (Pearson Higher Education, 2003).

  Djibril Tamsir Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (London: Longman).

  Movies & Documentaries

  Keita: The Heritage of the Griot (Burkina Faso, 1995) (Director: Dani Kouyaté).

  The Language You Cry In (Sierra Leone and Spain, 1998) (Producer/Director: Alvaro Toepke and Angel Serrano).

  Sango Malo (The Village Teacher) (Cameroon, 1991) (Director: Bassek ba Kobhio).

  Taafe Fanga (Skirt Power) (Mali, 1997) (Producer/Director: Adama Drabo).

  Ta Dona (Fire!) (Mali, 1991) (Director: Adama Drabo).

  Wend Kuuni (God�s Gift) (Burkina Faso 1992) (Director: Gaston Kabori)

• Travel Dates and Itineraries

  An Educational Trip to Ghana and Mali organized by Kennesaw State University 

  Week 1: Lectures at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

  Week 2: Travel and Site visits through Ghana (Elmina, Nzulezu, Kumasi, Mole, Tamale, Wa, Accra)

  Week 3: Lectures at the Universite du Mali, Bamako

  Week 4: Travel and Site visits through Mali (Kayes, Sikasso, Segou, Dogon Country, Djenne, Timbuktu, Kidal, Taodeni)

  Week 5: Wrap up in Accra, Ghana 

  Detailed Itinerary Tentative

  This itinerary is subject to change

  • Day
    Date
    Place
    Remarks

  • 1

    Tues., June 1

    Depart Atlanta, GA

    Arrive at Atlanta Airport, North Terminal, at 1:00 p.m. for departure on United/Lufthansa at 4:00 p.m.

  • 2

    Wed., June 2

    Arrive Accra, Ghana

    United/Lufthansa flight lands in Accra at 5:15 p.m.

    Group to be met at airport by in-country program director

  • 3

    Thurs., June 3

    Accra

    AM: Tour: Accra city

    PM: Travel to Cape Coast

  • 4

    Fri., June 4

    Cape Coast

    AM: Tour: Kakum Rainforest Park

    PM: Lecture: Der, The Ghanaian North and the World Wars

  • 5

    Sat., June 5

    Cape Coast

    AM: Lecture: Blay, Marine Life and ecosystem

    Lecture: Opoku-Agyemang, The Slave Trail in Ghana  

    Lecture: Palmas, Ghana�s educational system  

    PM: Spend some time at Brenu Beach

  • 6

    Sun., June 6

    Cape Coast

    Open; explore Cape Coast

  • 7

    Mon., June 7

    Cape Coast

    AM: Lecture: Quaye, Rainforest and Ghanaian environment

    Lecture: Britwum, Women in fishing/child maintenance  

    PM: Lecture: Osei, Contemporary Ghanaian political scene  

    Lecture: Amuah: Ghanaian music

  • 8

    Tues., June 8

    Cape Coast

    AM: Lecture: Ntreh, Religions in Ghana

    Lecture: Britiwum, Nationalist perspective in African lit  

    PM: Tour: Elmina and/or Cape Coast Castles  

    Evening: Debriefing on Castle tour, slavery & slave trade

  • 9

    Wed., June 9

    Travel to Kumasi

    En-route: Tour: Obuasi Gold mines; Lake Bosomtwe

  • 10

    Thurs., June 10

    Kumasi

    AM: Tour: Kumasi city, palace, Komfo Anokye sword, etc

    PM: Tour: Kumasi environs, carving and weaving villages

  • 11

    Fri., June 11

    Kumasi

    AM: Lecture at UST: Art and architecture of Ghana

    PM: Open  

    Evening: Debriefing on Asante Empire

  • 12

    Sat., June 12

    Travel to Mole

    AM: Travel to Mole

    PM: Visit Game Park

  • 13

    Sun., June 13

    Travel to Tamale

    AM: Visit Game Park

    PM: Travel to Tamale

  • 14

    Mon., June 14

    Tamale

    AM: Lecture at UDS: Development studies at UDS

    PM: Open, discover Tamale  

    Evening: Debriefing on Ghana program and experiences

  • 15

    Tues., June 15

    Travel to Accra

    A long road trip from Tamale to Accra

  • 16

    Wed., June 16

    Depart Accra, arrive Bamako, Mali

    AM: Leave hotel at 5 a.m. to make Ghana Airways flight that departs Accra at 7:00 a.m.; arrives Bamako at 10 a.m.

    Group to be met at the airport by in-country directors  

    PM: Tour of Bamako  

    Evening: Open

  • 17

    Thurs., June 17

    Bamako, Mali

    All lectures at Centre de Langue, Bamako

    AM: Lecture: Geography of Mali

    Lecture: Issues affecting women and children  

    PM: Lecture: Peoples of Mali  

    Lecture: Malian traditional music and performing arts

  • 18

    Fri., June 18

    Bamako, Mali

    All lectures at Centre de Langue, Bamako

    AM: Lecture: Oral literature: the Griots

    Lecture: Islam in Mali  

    PM: Lecture: West African cinema  

    Lecture: Economy of Mali

  • 19

    Sat., June 19

    Bamako, Mali

    All lectures at Centre de Langue, Bamako

    AM: Lecture: Medieval empires: Ghana, Mali, Songhai

    Lecture: Contemporary political development in Mali  

    PM: Open, Discover Bamako  

    Evening: Debriefing

  • 20

    Sun., June 20

    Travel to Djenne

    AM: Travel to Djenne

    PM: Tour of Djenne

  • 21

    Mon., June 21

    Djenne

    AM: Tour of Djenne

    PM: Discover Djenne culturally

  • 22

    Tues., June 22

    Travel to Bandiagara

    AM: Travel to Bandiagara

    PM: Open

  • 23

    Wed., June 23

    Bandiagara

    AM: Hiking the Bandiagara hills

    PM: Lecture: Traditional beliefs: the Dogon cosmology

  • 24

    Thurs., June 24

    Bandiagara

    AM: Hiking the Bandiagara hills

    PM: Open: explore Bandiagara

  • 25

    Fri., June 25

    Travel to Timbuktu

    A long trip to Timbuktu

  • 26

    Sat., June 26

    Timbuktu

    AM: Explore Timbuktu

    PM: Explore Timbuktu  

    Evening: Debriefing

  • 27

    Sun., June 27

    Travel to Douentza

    Travel to Douentza

  • 28

    Mon., June 28

    Travel to Mopti

    AM: Travel to Mopti

    PM: Explore Mopti  

    Evening: Debriefing; send-off party from Mali program

  • 29

    Tues., June 29

    Travel to Bamako

    AM: Travel to Bamako

  • 30

    Wed., June 30

    Depart Bamako, arrive Accra, Ghana

    AM: Leave hotel at 8:30 a.m. to make Ghana Airways flight that departs Bamako at 10:40 a.m.; arrives Accra at 1:35 p.m.

    PM: Open

  • 31

    Thurs., July 1

    Accra

    AM: Optional: Tour of Tema and Akosombo Dam

    PM: Shopping  

    Evening: Debriefing and Evaluation

  • 32

    Fri., July 2

    Accra

    AM: Optional: Tour of Aburi Botanical Gardens

    PM: Optional: Last minute shopping  

    Evening: Send-off Party

  • 33

    Sat., July 3

    Depart Accra, Ghana

     

  • 34

    Sun., July 4

    Arrive Atlanta, GA

     

   

• Maps of Ghana
  

  
• Maps of Mali
   

  

  

In-Country Director: Ghana
Atta Britwum
Professor of French
University of Cape Coast
Ghana

In-country Directors: Mali     
Oumarou Camara, Head     
Department of English, Universite du Mali    

Famakan Kyabou, Director    
Center for English Language, Bamako, Mali

For more information:
Call: 770.423.6336 or 770.423.6646
Fax: 770.499.3430
Email: aadebayo@kennesaw.edu